The present invention relates to methods of and catalytic cells for improving the totality and progression of completion of combustion of oxygenated hydrocarbon fuels, being more particularly directed to pre-combustion catalytic treatment of and chemical hydrocarbon change in the fuel, including the development of hydroxyl ions, that, upon combustion, causes the fuel to propagate ignition evenly through the entire combustion process within any internal combustion mechanism, substantially eliminating noxious by-products. More generically, the invention relates to elimination of such undesired by-products of hydrocarbon combustion and the like through the development of hydroxyl ions that during and following combustion have been found to scavenge or remove such by-products--such being applicable to other hydrocarbon burning or consumption systems than internal combustion engines, as well.
The invention is designed more specifically, in preferred, though not exclusive, application, for the principal purpose of providing for improved combustion characteristics of gasoline as an internal engine fuel with benefits that include (a) improved startability under adverse ambient conditions; (b) decrease in the formation of noxious and contaminating elements as contained normally within the exhausted products of combustion as these enter the atmosphere, including carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon particulates, nitrogen oxide and other exhausted products, some of which are carcinogenic when aspirated or when such products come in contact with skin surfaces of humans; (c) to provide for an extended service life of catalytic converters as used on automotive vehicles; and (d) to result in a decreased requirement of gasoline as an engine fuel as a product of more complete combustion with extrapolated development of useful energy in excess of the normal combustion characteristics of this engine fuel, a supporting reference to which is evident by an elimination or reduction of combustion by-products, including carbon monoxide, HC particulates and nitrogen oxide.
The application of this invention, either as an original equipment accessory or as a retro-fit product, is with positive benefit to environmental conditions at any gridlock locus of vehicle emissions contamination since noxious products of emissions are transported by air currents for great distances. Such emission products, entrained within the atmosphere, combine with moisture within the atmosphere to form super-acid precipitation, subsequently to the displacement of carbon dioxide in natural precipitation. The adverse influence of such super-acid precipitation on terrestrial and aquatic life forms and on the potability of ground water resources is recognized as an ongoing and expanding environmental hazard. Since noxious emissions from vehicles represent in excess of forty percent (40%) of atmospheric pollutants, the application of this method of emission control or elimination is a technology with merit in the suppression of environmental hazards, including acid rain and ozone contamination.
The art is replete with techniques for catalytically (and otherwise) aiding the combustion of oxygenated hydrocarbon fuels. Among such is the application of minute trace particles of platinum in hydrocarbon fuels preliminary to combustion, hopefully to improve completeness of the combustion, or to introduce a bubble of air containing platinum traces for mixture with the fuel within the entering air stream. The lack of efficacy of such methods is demonstrated by the mandated application of two and three stage catalytic converter systems which by design are intended to induce combustion of emission by-products within an after-burner device and before emission products enter the atmosphere.
Underlying the present invention is the discovery that immersion of the catalytic element in the fuel within the fuel tank provides for a continued surface contact of an anode of zinc and a cathode of partly platinum and partly rhodium to provide for a catalytic response in the fuel by means of electrolysis. The pre-combustion catalytic response effected by the anodic and cathodic electromotive action in the electrolytic fuel is of such a nature as to modify or alter the structure of the hydrocarbon fuel, generating hydroxyl ions and hydrogen oxides within the fuel, the former having been found effectively to scavenge or substantially eliminate the above-described and other undesired combustion by-products. The minimal requirement of the ionization of the noble metals as required for effective catalyzation of the hydrocarbon fuel is affirmed by the extended efficacious use of the invention as a catalyst within the fuel supply of a vehicle for a period of three or more years of normal vehicle operation.
With the use of this invention and subsequently to the catalytic response of the fuel, a phenomenon which is prompt and sustained, it has been found that the modified fuel ignites promptly with even propagation of the combustion flame front during the entire combustion process. When the altered fuel is consumed, it has been found that hydrogen oxides within the fuel mixture act beneficially and in the manner of tetraethyl lead (TEL) and other prior fuel additives to reduce octane requirements and at the same time that the hazards associated with the use of TEL are eliminated. The hydrogen oxides, pre-developed in the fuel by catalytic action, serve as effective carriers of primary oil lubricants to result in reduced wear factors of reciprocating and rotating engine components. The rhodium (and/or rhenium) influence on the combustion process results in a reduction of combustion temperatures to minimize or eliminate the production of oxides of nitrogen during the combustion process.